and I think he has far more fans than I expected coz’ that painting seems to be under scrutiny a lot!

Now, take for instance this painting- Lilith (1892). It pictures the sexuality between Lilith and the snake..Studies say that the picture clearly represents the sexual scenes between Lilith and the serpent in “Eden Bower” written by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

” It was Lilith the wife of Adam:
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Not a drop of her blood was human,
But she was made like a soft sweet woman.

Lilith stood on the skirts of Eden;
(And O the bower of the hour!)
She was the first that thence was driven;
With her was hell and with Eve was heaven.

In the ear of the Snake said Lilith :—
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
‘To thee I come when the rest is over;
A snake was I when thou wast my lover.

‘I was the fairest snake in Eden:
(And O the bower and the hour!)
By the earth’s will, new form and feature
Made me a wife for the earth’s new creature.

‘Take me thou as I come from Adam:
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Once again shall my love subdue thee;
The past is past and I am come to thee.

‘O but Adam was thrall to Lilith!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
All the threads of my hair are golden,
And there in a net his heart was holden.

‘O and Lilith was queen of Adam!
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
All the day and the night together
My breath could shake his soul like a feather.

‘What great joys had Adam and Lilith!—
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Sweet close rings of the serpent’s twining,
As heart in heart lay sighing and pining.

What bright babes had Adam and Lilith!—
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Shapes that coiled in the woods and waters,
Glittering sons and radiant daughters.

‘O thou God, the Lord God of Eden!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Say, was this fair body for no man,
That of Adam’s flesh thou mak’st him a woman?

‘O thou Snake, the King-snake of Eden!
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
God’s strong will our necks are under,
But thou and I may cleave it in sunder.

‘Help, sweet Snake, sweet lover of Lilith!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
And let God learn how I loved and hated
Man in the image of God created.

‘Help me once against Eve and Adam!
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Help me once for this one endeavour,
And then my love shall be thine for ever!

‘Strong is God, the fell foe of Lilith:
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Nought in heaven or earth may affright him;
But join thou with me and we will smite him.

‘Strong is God, the great God of Eden:
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Over all he made he hath power;
But lend me thou thy shape for an hour!

‘Lend thy shape for the love of Lilith!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Look, my mouth and cheek are ruddy,
And thou art cold, and fire is my body.

‘Lend thy shape for the hate of Adam!
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
That he may wail my joy that forsook him,
And curse the day when the bride-sleep took him.

‘Lend thy shape for the shame of Eden!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Is not the foe-God weak as the foeman
When love grows hate in the heart of a woman?

‘Would’st thou know the heart’s hope of Lilith?
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
Then bring thou close thine head till it glisten
Along my breast, and lip me and listen.

‘Am I sweet, O sweet Snake of Eden?
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Then ope thine ear to my warm mouth’s cooing
And learn what deed remains for our doing.

‘Thou didst hear when God said to Adam:—
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
“Of all this wealth I have made thee warden;
Thou’rt free to eat of the trees of the garden:

‘”Only of one tree eat not in Eden;
(And O the bower and the hour!)
All save one I give to thy freewill,—
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”

‘Fold me fast, O God-snake of Eden!
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
What more prize than love to impel thee?
Grip and lip my limbs as I tell thee!

‘Lo! two babes for Eve and for Adam!
(And O the bower and the hour!)
Lo! sweet Snake, the travail and treasure,—
Two men-children born for their pleasure!

‘The first is Cain and the second Abel:
(Eden bower’s in flower.)
The soul of one shall be made thy brother,
And thy tongue shall lap the blood of the other.’
(And O the bower and the hour!) “

[Firstly, I really liked this poem and the way it is written.. As we read it, we can feel the love, the loss, the vengeance..When we look into the history of Lilith, it feels as though everyone was against her.. For those who might take insult at the poem and the image, I just thought I would add that Lilith’s origins predate the Christian bible by a good three thousand years.] & Now, after having read this poem, you can see how Lilith is compared to the serpents and how she finally (according to mythology) became this dreaded monster who kills others children and young men..

This painting is from the pre-Raphaelite period when the Victorian era was still at its height..1892. John Collier depicted Lilith as a goddess of lust and passion — she brings sexual ecstasy to her worshippers and destruction to anyone clueless enough to oppose her.

Originally a Mesopotamian storm demon associated with the desert and disease, the figure of Lilith grew to be a demigoddess in the Mesopotamian world, a demon queen in the Judaic culture, and a popular figure in Neopagan worship. She brought disease and death to the unworthy, and came to be viewed as a goddess of retribution. Her name means “beautiful maiden” in Sumerian. She’s barren, and in later Babylonian mythology, she’s described as a prostitute of Ishtar. Ishtar was believed to have sent her into the streets of Babylon to seduce its men and entice them from the beds of their wives.

Lilith is associated with sexuality and is often considered the mother of incubi and succubi.